Page 48 of Tinder Embrace
Sophie sipped at her coffee, peering at me over the top of her cup. "So, you're saying we need a leap of faith…"
"Yeah."
Her expression was hard to read. Taking chances wasn't exactly in my nature, but with Sophie, I wanted to try.
Slowly, a grin broke across Sophie's face, and my heart beat faster.
"Then it's a good thing I love to fly."
I bit back the reminder that she also knew how to crash. It wasn't exactly the metaphor we were going for, even if that crash had brought her into my life, woken me up.
I swooped in, gathering her in my arms, careful to pry the hot cup of coffee from her hands before sneaking in a coffee-flavored kiss.
"Maybe you can take me up next time?" I asked, wanting to demonstrate my belief that wecouldfly.
Together.
“I can always use a co-pilot,” she murmured, smiling. The trust in her eyes warmed me from the inside, seeking out the lingering corners of doubt and extinguishing them with her faith.
Chapter 19
Sophie
I’d floated through the rest of Davis's visit, awash in kittens, coffee, and the reassurances of the man I was coming to feel more for than I wanted to admit. Taking another chance on Davis filled me with a jittery excitement.
He'd shared more with me today than I'd expected, talking about his past. About his marriage.
The idea that Davis had been married before was uncomfortable, like an itch I couldn't quite scratch. It was hard to imagine him letting someone in enough to make it to the altar. Then again, if he'd been hurt in the past, maybe his walls were a defense leftover from those past hurts. If there'd been a younger, more open version of Davis, he was long-gone.
But the man still fascinated me. Gruff on the outside and sweet in the center. His sense of duty, of responsibility, was off the charts. I'd dated one guy who quit jobs like he was changing his shirt. Luckily, he'd been charming enough to land another almost instantly, but I experienced secondhand stress every time he swapped for a new one.
Davis was the opposite. He'd committed to Pruitt Farm and Pinkney Brewing, and there was no walking away. Families and livelihoods depended on him, and he'd never blink. Something about that was reassuring, even if it meant he wouldn't always put me first.
My phone buzzed as I was climbing into bed.
Davis: Sweet dreams, B.
Sophie: XO
The week in between Davis’s apology and our planned date flew by. I was busy preparing for standardized testing,and Davis was equally occupied with equipment repairs at the farm. But that didn’t stop him from checking in with me daily. Sometimes it was a quick text, others a longer phone conversation about our days. Every interaction left me aching for him and eager for our hike.
Saturday dawned, a crisp, perfect spring morning, and I relinquished the last of my reluctance about taking Bee-gonia up again. Mornings like this made me want nothing more than to lift off, floating above it all.
Flying was too much a part of me to let fear linger. Unfortunately, I still had to pick up the repaired burner before I could do another test flight. Davis had offered a morning hike and picnic at the top of Quartzite Mountain for our first date, followed by a trip into Spokane to pick up the burner at the maintenance shop.
I dressed in comfortable layers, my favorite puffy jacket on top for warmth. There'd probably still be snow in places along our route, and the forecasted high was in the fifties. Davis knocked promptly at eight, and I followed him out to his truck for the drive to the Quartzite Mountain trailhead.
I expected him to be quiet, but he peppered me with questions about my week and students. "Do you still want me to come speak with your class about farming?"
"Absolutely. Taylor's already been hyping you up with his friends."
Davis groaned, and I smiled at his put-upon expression. "You told them I wouldn't be bringing any kittens, right?"
"Yes," I chuckled. "But your legend lives on. Taylor gives a play-by-play of your charges almost daily. Everyone knows about Princess Buttercup and the gang."
"They're going to be disappointed if I don't at least bring Frick and Frack, aren't they?"
I hid my smile before he could catch me. For all his grumbling, somehow I didn't think it would be my students he'd disappoint if he couldn't bring the cats.
